The Night Before Thirty (4 page)

Alecia never took his businesslike, matter-of-fact manner personally because she knew that when he was in her presence he was as attentive as a little puppy. Excited at the thought of seeing him, she pulled a compact out of her purse and checked her hair in the mirror. It was nearly perfect, as usual, bone-straight and parted down the middle. Then she applied additional powder to her T zone, just in case her forehead and nose had become too shiny. Upon closer observation, she decided she needed to freshen up her lipstick.

She was standing there in the middle of the sidewalk, with passersby moving all around her. She didn't seem to acknowledge or care that the walking traffic would have flown a bit more smoothly if only she had positioned herself either closer to the curb or to the building. No, it was Alecia's world. There was no way she could have possibly been in the way. She applied her lipstick lightly, licked her lips, and then used her fingers to fuss around her eyes, ensuring her appearance was as fresh as it could possibly be after such a long flight.

Satisfied, Alecia pulled out an atomizer and sprayed her neck and the folds of her arms. By the time she'd put away her makeup and moved closer to the curb in anticipation, she saw the law firm's sedan moving slowly toward her. She found herself feeling giddy, but she caught herself.
Wait a minute.
I
am the shit. He's the one who should be excited.

The driver stopped the car directly in front of her and rushed out to greet her.

“How are you today, Miss Parker?” he asked, opening the car door for her.

“Charmed, Tony. Thanks. And you?” she asked, slipping into the seat next to William without looking at the chauffeur or waiting to hear a response.

Tony shook his head. He was used to Alecia's antics. He closed the
door and grabbed her luggage and jacket. He put the luggage in the trunk and came back around to find Alecia and William in a tongue lock. He cleared his throat to announce his presence. “Your jacket, Miss Parker.”

“Oh,” she said, turning to face him. She placed the jacket on the seat beside her, pulled the door closed, and went back to kissing up her man.

“How's that for a welcome-home kiss?” she purred.

“Fantastic. But I'm not the one who's been globe-trotting.”

“Right you are, handsome, but just know that when you're in my presence, you're home. Your Jewel is here in the flesh,” she said, and then cascaded her hands past her breasts and down her waist. “Again, welcome home.”

“You are too much,” William replied, blushing. Then he grabbed her hand. “I'm glad to be home.” He squeezed. “I missed you, Jewel, I missed everything about you.” He rubbed her thighs. “I missed your long legs, your small waist …” He leaned over and planted a light kiss on her breast. “I missed that killer cleavage that called to me every night in my dreams.”

“Stop it,” Alecia said, and playfully nudged the back of his neck so his lips would fall back on her breast. Then she crossed her legs with her knees facing him and arched her back to make sure her cleavage was pumped up and in his face.

“I missed your beautiful smile and those hypnotic eyes. You know you can get anything you want from me when I'm lost in those eyes.” He put his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. Then he slowly moved his mouth to her ear. When he was close enough, he whispered, “We could make a beautiful son together.”

“Oh stop it, William. You know I'm not ready for that kind of responsibility,” she said to him. “And your wife would kill us both,” she murmured under her breath.

“What was that?” he asked. She gazed into his eyes, and his words played in her mind and moved through her soul.
What would it be like to build a family with him?
she wondered. Divine was the answer. Their child would be amazing. If it were a boy, he would be distinguished like William, one of the handful of black men Alecia dated.

In Los Angeles there was an abundance of powerful, filthy-rich men, but most of them were either white or foreign. When one of these rich
men showed an interest, Alecia responded. But none could compare to William—he was such a man. At forty-seven, William could have easily passed for someone in his late thirties, if he didn't have gray hair on his head and in his mustache. He had soft, fair skin, gray eyes, and nice lean features. His smile and charm were of the kind that distinguished phenomenal salesmen from merely good ones. William was exceptional, with a great mind and an incredibly high sex drive.

“Combined with my beauty,” Alecia mused softly, “indeed, our son would be a threat to society and the women whose hearts he'd break, one after another.”

“Did you say something to me?” he asked her again.

“Pull me closer,” she whispered.

William squeezed her tighter and ever so softly put his hand under her chin to pull her lips close to his. His kiss was warm, passionate.

As in-control as Alecia attempted to be when in his presence, she couldn't deny that she was deeply in love with him. All he had to do was say the word, and she would drop every man in her address book and settle down with him.

“So how much time do we have today?” she asked.

He released his embrace. The question triggered William to fall back into business mode. He sat up straight, pulled out his Palm, and called up his schedule for the day. “We have approximately two hours,” he said. “I have two meetings later in the day, and then tonight I have to attend a showcase one of the record labels I represent is putting on with some new talent they're considering. But I've got a surprise for you in the next two weekends. Are you going to be free?” he asked.

Of course I will be free,
she said to herself. Then she gave an answer to remind him that she had a life outside of him. “I think I can arrange to be. What do you have planned?”

“If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now, would it?”

“You're right, but can't I get an itty-bitty little hint?” She pouted.

“Little, beautiful city, with a beautiful woman, doing beautiful things.”

“More, more!” she playfully begged, and moved close to him. “Tell me more.”

“Just know that you're going to be with me, and I'm going to treat you like a princess,” he said, and then slid his arm back around her waist while Alecia laid her head on his shoulder.

“You always do,” she replied.

Alecia lay in silence in William's arms all the way to her condominium. She knew that her relationship with him was a fairy tale. He was her knight in shining armor. But if she wanted to live happily ever after with him, it meant that she would have to share her throne with his queen, whom he'd rescued and made his bride long before he'd met Alecia.

ANYA CHARLES SAT
in her living room, legs crossed and arms tightly clutched in front of her chest, as she waited impatiently by the telephone. She had spent an hour and a half getting dressed, only to sit there for at least another hour. Her microbraided hair was pulled up and away from her made-up face. She was dressed in black two-and-a-half-inch pumps, super-sheer black panty hose that hugged her legs, and a sexy, short black dress. Her nails were well manicured. But it was all beginning to seem in vain because there was a possibility she would be going nowhere tonight. To make it worse, this wasn't the first time she'd found herself stood up by her man, Chris.

Christopher Walker was notorious for arriving hours late or just not showing up at all. He was always on his own schedule, and if Tanya wasn't willing to go along with the program, Chris had made it clear that she could hit the road running, because there were too many women in the greater Chicago area more than willing to take her place.

Although there was a clock in the living room, she got up and walked into the kitchen, to look at the big-faced clock hanging over the stove. She released a long sigh. She didn't really need to look at the time. She had checked it every five minutes. The impulse forcing her to get up over and over again clued her in that it was five minutes later than the
last time she had looked at the clock, but she got up and looked nonetheless. She wanted to make sure she was correct and that Chris truly was late again.

Tanya attempted to distract herself by opening the refrigerator and checking to see if there was anything she could snack on while she waited. Too much preparation was required for most of what was inside, so she walked over to the pantry and grabbed a bag of chips off the shelf. As she munched, she realized that a snack wouldn't do—she needed a meal. She was starving. She hadn't eaten since her lunch break, and even then, she'd kept the meal light because when Chris took her out to dinner, they always overordered: champagne, wine, or mixed drinks, two or three appetizers, huge entrées, and dessert. The sky was the limit—whatever Tanya wanted, Chris got for her, and not only at restaurants.

She had all the latest fashions. Most of the clothes she wore were stolen, but they were the top-of-the-line threads nonetheless. Her one-bedroom loft located in Wicker Park was elaborately furnished, and she drove a fully loaded Audi 5000—all gifts from the man who insisted she wait until he was ready to get out of the drug game and begin earning money legitimately before they got married.

“I'm sick of this shit!” she huffed, devouring the chips on her way back to her designated waiting area on the sofa, in front of the big-screen television. But she didn't dare call him, because experience had taught her that when she made contact with him, he felt more justified in extending his arrival time. Using the excuse “We touched base. You knew I was coming, so why you bringing the drama?” he avoided taking responsibility for his lateness.

Tanya felt the urge to check the time again. “Okay, five more minutes have passed,” she said. “Time to wash down these chips.” She got off the sofa and walked back into the kitchen, where she pulled a bottle of soda out of the fridge. The doorbell rang. “He's here,” she sighed, and then put the half-open soda back into the fridge, grabbed a knife to check her lips and teeth in its reflection, and then smoothed her hair and her clothes and rushed to open the door.

Chris was posed on the other side of the door, hiding behind his signature dark shades and tugging away at his goatee. His lips were poked out, as they always were when he wanted to appear sexy. Dressed in
Sean John jeans and jacket, a Karl Kani T-shirt, and hiking boots, her man was looking damned good, as usual.

“Hey, baby. Yo' man is here to take you out on the town. So what's up?”

Tanya smiled.

“Get over here and give Daddy some lovin',” he gently demanded.

Tanya happily stepped to Chris and fiercely tongued her man down, then finished him off with gentle pecks. She loved loving on his lips.

“You know how I like it, baby, don't you?” he said, gently nudging her back into the apartment, following close behind her. “I know you're hungry. What you got a taste for?”

“There's a steak restaurant that some of my coworkers were talking about earlier this week. I thought we could try it out.”

“Ah, yeah?” Chris's voice was deep, smooth and, as far as Tanya was concerned, sounded like jazz music.

“Yeah. I hear the food is really good.”

“Wouldn't we need a reservation or something?” he asked, pulling a chair away from the dining room table.

“Well, I made one for eight-thirty, but now it's almost ten and I'm not sure what time they close. It should only take us twenty minutes to get there from here,” she said calmly. Compromise was the name of the game. Dinner at eight-thirty or eleven was fine, as long as Chris was there with her.

“Why don't you call them and see …” His cell phone rang. “Excuse me baby,” he said, and answered his phone. “Hello … okay … hold on a sec.” He pulled the phone away from his ear and said to Tanya, “Call the restaurant and see what we can do. I'll only be a moment.” Then he continued with his conversation. “Yeah man, it's all good. So what's up?”

Tanya looked at her boyfriend suspiciously. Would this call be one that would prevent them from having a night out together? She prayed not. Not wanting to appear too obvious, she slowly walked away, eavesdropping, hoping to find out if their plans were being changed.